My review:
This would have been a five star read, until I read the last part of the novel. Now, I'm kind of a little bit pissed. If you love Ryodan, if you think he's the best damn thing to happen to this series, then you are going to love this ending. Me? I tolerate Ryodan.
I acknowledge that he's a necessary character in my second favorite series of all time, and I sometimes feel mildly... fond of him, but that's it. So the fact that he got the ending that in my opinion, should have gone to Barrons, makes me so mad. So mad. All that foreshadowing, all that buildup, only for Ryodan to swoop in and ruin everything. No. Just no.
Like Mac, I'm not much of a curser, but when I got to the last fifty pages, all I could say was "what the fuck?"
Other than this, I adored this book. I was on cloud 9 reading it. Just to be back with my favorite characters again was so wonderful. The wait was worth it. Even when the story took a turn I wasn't expecting, as there were a lot of misdirects making the reader think Mac was going to go dark, I still enjoyed it so much. The banter, the doppelgangers, the twisty world of fairie, the rainy Dublin atmosphere, Barrons books and Baubles, the gang all together trying to save the world, I loved it.
Mac and Barrons were amazing together. This series has truly affected my life, and just reading about them after so long made me so emotional. I daydream about these characters. Mac's introspective, effervescent personality, Barron's calm alpha stoicism and his long philosophical musings, it was all here! 😂
The plot had me at the edge of my seat. Everything was so good, I could even ignore Shazam (You're one of my favorite authors, Karen Marie Moning, but I will never like that stupid talking cat). Then came the ending. And the weird epilogue, which alluded to real people (took me right out of the story) and was just Barrons and Mac talking about Lemurs and a Cafe. Then Barrons said something like, "Why are you using that talented mouth of yours to talk when there are so many other things you might be doing with it?" which... look, I know this isn't my story. I didn't write these characters that I love so dearly, but it just didn't feel like something Barron's would say. Especially not to close out the final book in the series. (Shadowfever's "I'd know Joy" was the best closer of the series, hands down)
He spent this whole novel being so perfect and so very BARRONS. "I fear nothing, except that you would fear me" and "Did you really think there was any version of me you could create, in any reality, in any universe that would not- first, foremost and forever- be loyal to MacKayla Lane?" were such memorable lines. So that hokey thing he said at the end didn't fit.
Even with the weird epilogue, I would have have given this book five stars, added it to my favorites list, the whole thing. Now, I have to think about it. That ending really did a number on me. (I also would have loved to have seen the "time resets" Barrons did. It was alluded to near the end that Mac did go dark, numerous times, and he simply found a way to rewind time over and over until she made the right choice. That would have been fascinating to read about, why the hell didn't that happen omg)
Regardless, when I got to the acknowledgements and read "This is the end of the Fever Series. Thank you for coming on this journey with me" I seriously got all teary. (I was also very sorry to hear of what Karen Marie Moning has been going through, and I'm glad she's doing much better)
I've been reading about these characters since 2016, and they have brought me so much joy. Despite what I feel for the ending of this novel, I'm so glad I got to read this story and I wish it didn't have to end.
Another update: release date has been pushed to 2/16/2021
Update: The release date has been changed again because of all that has been going on lately and this book will now release next year on January 12th. I completely understand and I appreciate that KMM keeps her fans updated.
I'm no longer going to anticipate this book's release, however. It'll come out whenever it comes out, and when it does, I'm sure I'll love it.
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The release date for this book has been changed and it will now be releasing in August instead of in June. Part of me is trying to be logical. I want this book to be the best it can be, so if that means KMM needs to take more time to write it, she should absolutely do that. The other part of me is so bummed. I miss Mac and Barrons. I miss Dani. I miss Ryodan. (Just kidding. I'd never go that far. I still hate him)
Having to wait even longer for another book about them really sucks. I might just do another re-read to get me through it.